Aesthetics of chosen checkmate

In a game where you are about to mate next move, and you have multiple choices...how do you pick one? ;)

Aesthetics?  The first one you saw?  The one that mates with greatest distance?  The one that is closest?

For example:

The queen can mate on 4 different squares...how do you personally decide which one?

Can't see the diagram (doesn't load well on phone), but aesthetics, and in the following piece order:

Pawn, knight, bishop, rook, queen.

- "I would mate with Qh3++...it makes a nice triangle."

- "I would mate with Qg5++...it makes the enemy king look the most cornered/trapped."

...etc.

I find that I prefer to give the mating check with a knight, or from a diagonal, over horizontal or vertical checks...don't know why.  Seems...sneakier, maybe?

I'm presuming I saw them all within a short time span, I don't spend a lot of time looking for alternate mates.

I'd take Qh1, but don't ask me why.

There's a White King on f5, and Queen on g2, and a Black King on h5.

The piece order is something I use myself..."lower" pieces seeming more impressive, all things being equal...but sometimes other factors seem flashier...mating with double check, a smothered mate with a knight, etc.  Sometimes in the context of the game, one piece stands out for mating ("this rook I never moved the whole game" or "this bishop the opponent could have traded for 2 moves ago", etc.).

I just think it will interesting to see people's various criteria for making such a choice.

Thanks. Qg5 then I think looks cleanest. The pieces are compact.

quckiest way possible to get it over with and to show proper respect towards my opponent as anything that takes longer seems rude.

Agreed.  I am assuming a situation like the one I posted where all 4 mates are almost instantly apparent, or situations where you have had a lot of time to analyze while your opponent was thinking.  if someone sees one mate clearly before others, I assume they would take it ;).

Qh2++ is the correct move.

    Why? Because it is the shortest and therefore the quickest to move. e.g. to move the Q to h3 takes 1.4 times as long, thus wasting valuable time which could be better spent on other matters.

  Also, can we assume that since your opponent is making you play to the bitter end, you must be short of time? If so that extra time wasted could cost dearly!

I'd play Qh1 because it's fun to mate with a move that steps away.

Other times it's the pattern the pieces make, even if it's just that they're all on the same color.

In speed games I dislike going for the patterns you learn as a beginner like the rook ladder mate or mating with a queen directly in front of the king.

I prefer Scottrf's method.

Why?

1. Pawn = pawn checkmates are coolest! 

2. Knight = knight checkmates are cool and sneaky!

3. Bishop = long-range mates are always interesting.

4. Rook = rook checkmates are...hmm...kind of mild to your opponent

5. Queen = queen checkmates are extremely mild :P

g6 is one of my favourite squares.

I think it's because maybe I do sacs there often.

In any case to cut a long story short, i'll go for  Qg3 first, and only then Qg6.

Qh1, I actually learnt to checkmate with a rook before a queen, so id always use the rook method, and its the first one that comes to mind.

Moving the queen backwards is just more pretty.

@btickler Uh, well, um, er, that is to say...I'll underpromote to a Rook if that mates instead of a Queen but otherwise I'm happy when I'm delivering a mate instead of receiving one! And of course you should always go for the shortest forced mate you can find  as Nimzovitch said "The beauty of a chess move lies not in its appearance but in the thought behind it."

@Senator-Blutarsky get those straws out of your nose! They're very distracting!

Another good idea is Qc6, followed by Qc3 and Qh8 mate.

a Queen on h1 ?  naw h8 makes more sense at least for a Queen as it gets her off the first rank.

I would do queen g4 and then after kh6 sac the queen for a draw =)

Chessplayers don't get any nicer than this. I'd like to give you a pepperoni pizza. Trophy on it's way!

It's up to personal preference.